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April 16, 2008 Was Adam white or black? The Bibles I saw when I was a child had pictures of a white Adam, a white Jesus, and white disciples. I never thought twice about it since it fit into my Caucasian world. The Bible tells an interesting story in Genesis 4. Cain killed his brother Abel because of jealousy. God noticed (of course) and punished Cain – with a touch of mercy shown in. Cain was banished from his people and given “a mark” (v. 15) by God “lest any finding him should kill him.” God made something stand out on Cain that identified him as different, unique, or special so that he wouldn’t be killed by others in revenge. I’ve always wondered what that mark was. A black man told my father once that since Adam and his family was black that the mark God put on Cain was making him into the first white man. That was the first time I ever thought about Adam’s skin color. Of course there are white folks who believe the opposite is true.
What difference does it make, in reality? Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, noted in John 17:21, “that they all may be one.” Paul the apostle wrote in Galatians 3:28 “for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” John the revelator saw a vision of heaven and noted in Revelation 5:9 that those in heaven were redeemed to God by Christ’s blood “out of every nation, and tongue, and people, and nation.” If we are all children of Adam and Eve and if we will all be family in heaven, why are our churches mostly segregated? Why is racism alive and well in many churches? Why does any child of God look down or have resentment toward people of other races and cultures? Why do we pick up a broad paint brush and smear every person of a color or race because of a few bad apples? Aren’t we smart enough to recognize that there are bad people from every race, including our own? Is sin confined to one race? Is attitude restricted to one race? We share more in common with each other than we realize. We are all descendents of Adam, God’s created human. We are all born with the carnal mind, the cause of sin. We all are in need of God’s forgiveness. We all have to have the Holy Spirit in our hearts to resist and overcome sin and evil in our life. All believers will reside together in heaven one day as one family of God. When the family of God comes together on earth the end result, our testimony is “that the world may believe” that God sent Jesus. (John 17:21) I can’t think of a better reason for racism to die. Gary Collier is pastor at Christ’s Sanctified Holy Church located at 791 White Pond Rd. He welcomes your thoughts at garybcollier@gmail.com or at 854-3003. You may access and share “Gary’s Musings” by going to http://cshcl.com/archived_musings.htm Archived Gary's Musing Click Here |
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